When I first started taking kratom, I strayed away from thai strains because I thought that they were weak. However, over time I really feel that a lot of thai strains have become much more potent, and at the moment they're one of my favorites, especially a good red vein thai. While I typically vary the strains I take, I have found myself taking more and more thai, so I figured I might as well do a review on different thai strains I like.

Red Vein Thai

For me this is the king of all thai strains. The reason for this is because a good red vein thai has both the stimulating effects of a thai as well as the painkilling effects of a bali or borneo strain. This makes the strain very good for everyday use. Although I try and vary strains, this past month I've been using RVT at about half the time, which is a pretty large amount for me.

Green Vein Thai

Green vein thai is very rare to find, I've only found about two different high quality green vein thai strains since I started taking kratom, which was a while ago. However, a good green vein thai is overall lighter and more subtle than a red vein thai, but it has some very unique properties and provides a very crisp type of focus which I really enjoy.

White Vein Thai

White vein thai, while typically being the weakest in painkilling effects, is still pretty useful. I know a lot of people who really like this type, despite it not being my favorite. This type of thai is best for thoes who are looking for a good stimulating effect without any of the heavier effects. This strain is used commonly for its antidepressant effects and can be a good substitute for coffee in the morning.

This is my review of different thai strains, and I intend to do a review on different vendors thai strains soon too so I would like input!

Maeng Da, almost every regular kratom user has heard about it and has probably tried it, but what is that makes this kratom so unique and well liked among kratom users?

The Effects of Maeng Da Kratom

While most different types of kratom are typically stimulating or sedating, Maeng Da can be both. There are two reasons for this, the first reason is because vendor haphazardly label their strongest kratom as maeng da, and because some actual strains of maeng da vary in effects depending on the dose that you take. A lot other strains don't have this interesting effect of lower doses being more stimulating, while higher doses are more sedating, though it does happen.

Maeng Da also has a really interesting history behind it in comparison to a lot of other kratom strains, which will help you understand what the term maeng da really means. If you want information on the origins of maeng da check out http://ensobotanicals.com/truth-maeng-da-kratom/.

The effects of Maeng Da are typically very similar to stimulating types of kratom, with a little bit more in the euphoria department. Depending on who you get maeng da from these effects can vary though, some lean more towards the stimulating side while others are more sedating. Typically, however, this strain is more stimulating overall than most others. Here are some of the most commonly experienced effects of Maeng Da.

A clean but powerful stimulation

Moderate euphoria depending on tolerance

Good painkilling effects

Strong sense of motivation

Heightened awareness and alertness

Increased focus

Antidepressant effects

Because of these effects, good maeng da strains are often used for heavy work or anything that requires high levels of focus and awareness.

Side Effects of Maeng Da

While being great for all of these purposes, many varieties of maeng da can have a few side effects.

Sweating at high doses

Feeling of intensity from too much energy

Anxiety (mostly for anxiety prone individuals)

Even though this strain can have a few side effects, you will rarely encounter them unless you take a dose that is too high for your specific brain and body chemistry. For those who want to increase dosage without side effects like this, you can mix it with a more mellow strain for the best of both worlds.

This is still certainly one of my favorite strains of kratom, though a good true maeng da is often hard to find. Despite that, I definitely suggest anyone who hasn't tried maeng da to at least test it out, despite it costing more than regular kratom leaf, it could be your new favorite!

While I don't really like the idea of mixing kratom with other psychoactive substances, because we don't really understand the entirety of alkaloids in kratom and their effects, I still think it is a good idea to write a little bit about different combinations and how they typically effect people.

Kratom and Alcohol

A commonly used kratom combination is kratom and alcohol. I personally do not enjoy this very often, the reason being that they tend to accentuate the negatives of each other. However, I have noticed that combining a stimulating strains with moderate to low levels of alcohol can be an enjoyable experience. The trick with this is to keep the dose of alcohol to a minimum in comparison to the kratom, otherwise nausea can certainly occur, and puking up kratom powder is much less than fun.

Kratom and Cannabis

Another common kratom combination used is kratom and cannabis. Using kratom and marijuana together doesn't seem to have much side effects and the two can bring out qualities in each other that are pretty unique. Typically kratom can reduce the edginess of smoking, making it a much more internally calm and serene experience. One of the biggest upsides of heard from the combination of these two can really bring out the beauty of nature. Definitely look at this erowid experience report about this combination to get a good first person overview.

Kratom and Caffeine

Probably the most commonly used kratom combination is kratom and caffeine. While some people have quit caffeine thanks to kratom, the combination of these two can be great for focus and motivation, especially when using a more stimulating strain of kratom like a Thai. Like the cannabis and kratom combo, kratom can also really smooth the edginess of caffeine as well.

While there are a variety of different combinations one can try, be sure to be safe above all when trying these, as every individual is different.

This post isn't going to be too long, but I thought that this quote from wikipedia was cool and really echos what the kratom community has been saying for a long period of time. Although this alkaloid is thought to be 30 times stronger than morphine per dose, it is almost entirely side effect free and much safer than traditional opiates.

"One notable distinction between 7-hydroxymitragynine and traditional opioids is that 7-hydroxymitragynine does not cause hypoventilation (respiratory depression) and therefore does not carry the primary safety risk associated with traditional opioids." - Wikipedia

There have been a few who have unjustly argued that kratom is dangerous, but luckily the scientific understand of this plant has really started to catch up, which has been a great stride for the legality of kratom.

Recently I have had some really annoying, and extremely painful tooth problems. Anyone who has dealt with severe tooth pain knows how bad it can be. It wasn't until just recently that I got the put kratom to use in it's full painkilling potential. In fact, after buying a variety of different strains, I found out my perfect blend for painkilling effects.

I'm going to discuss some borneo kratom strain combinations that really helped me deal with this whole situation with only relatively mild discomfort. Overall, from what I've experienced, and I bought over 10 different strains (the pain was that bad) in order to find a perfect blends. So with that said here comes the meat of this post.

My Beloved RVB

Wow, so I have been a moderate fan of borneo strains over the past few years, but I never knew how effective they could be for pain, and that's not it. In my experience I have found that for some reason, mixing borneo with another strain for painkilling can really improve the effects of both in an exponential instead of additive way.

In my experience, it seems like borneo has very little side effects besides sleepiness even at pretty high doses, making extracts not nearly as worthwhile as they used to be for me, despite having experimented with this strain in the past, I didn't know how effective using borneo kratom for pain was until I read this post http://ensobotanicals.com/best-kratom-for-pain-strains-and-advice/, as I've never dealt with severe pain like that.

So here are my favorite combinations for this purpose:

Red Vein Borneo + Green Vein Bali

Ok, so this is my perfect painkilling blend for quick relief. I've been mixing a red vein borneo strain with a green vein bali strain, and this combination has had the biggest effect out of all the others. A few others have speculated it may be because of the alkaloid differences in the green vs red vein, but at this point I'm really not sure, but I know it definitely works.

Red Vein Borneo + Green Vein Indo

Like the above combination, this one is really unique and packs quite a mood lift with it. However, it definitely puts me to sleep as well, so I didn't use it much at all during the day during this time, despite its effectiveness. This blend also gives a unique floaty sensation, which I've never experienced with such a sedating blend. Very unexpected but neat.

Red Vein Borneo + Green Malaysian

This was my daily blend for the past few weeks for a few reasons. The first reason is because something about this combo makes the length of the RVB a lot longer in comparison to just taking it by itself. Also, because the green malaysian strain I've been using is pretty energetic, I don't encounter almost any sedation until it is about to wear off.

For almost anybody looking into using kratom, one of the biggest concerns is safety. However, rest assured that according to nearly every source, kratom is exceptionally safe in comparison to other similar medication, and even other herbs. In fact, kratom has been used for several thousand years without a single effing death contributed to it. That's amazing. It definitely reminds me of another ignorantly hated herb.

Although kratom seems to be safe as anything, it doesn't mean that you should abuse the plant, as anything used in excess can be bad in some way. Moderation is key in nearly everything in life, the sooner you learn this the happier your life will be.

Despite the fact that kratom's safety ratio is extremely impressive, there are some side effects of kratom that can occur when dosing at levels too high.

Temporary Side Effects

Kratom has a few temporary side effects when taken in excess, one of the most well known of these side effects is the wobbles. Nobody knows for certain what the wobbles are, or what causes them, but the feeling is having a hard time focusing the eyes. This effect can lead to a few other side effects like nausea from the feeling of being "off" as well as headaches from straining the eyes. The best trick if this occurs is to just lie down and close your eyes for a few minutes.

Side Effects from Long-Term Use

While some people may have to take kratom for the long term if they are dealing with a condition like chronic pain, I don't advise it unless absolutely necessary. The reason for this is because heavy use of kratom can cause a mild withdrawal symptom upon cessation. Most people compare the withdrawal from kratom to that of caffeine. But even caffeine withdrawals can be no fun.

Despite kratom being very safe, it's a good idea to keep it in moderation. This way the effects will be stronger and you won't encounter any lame side effects.

Red vein kratom is one of the most commonly used and types of kratom, and where it doesn't match white vein kratom effects in lucidity, it makes up for it in brute force. This type of kratom is awesome for those looking for painkilling effects, sedation, anxiety and stress relief and more.

About Red Vein Kratom

The reason red vein kratom is so potent is because of its proportionally higher levels of 7-hydroxymitragynine in comparison to other vein types -- whereas white veins are higher in mitragynine and green veins would a mix between the two alkaloid levels.

Painkilling Effects

One of the reasons this kratom is so widely used is because of its potent painkilling effects. For anyone looking for a good kratom for pain killing, this vein type is by far the ideal choice, especially a red vein borneo or bali, which can be a lifesaver for those with chronic pain. I know many people who have quit using prescription drugs thanks to potent red vein strains.

Euphoriant

Out of all types of kratom, red vein strains are typically the most euphoric. The main reason for this is because of their higher levels of 7-OH-Mitragynine. These strains come on very strong and typically last about four to six hours before abating in effects.

Anxiety Relief & Relaxation

Reds are ideal for anxiety relief and relaxation, making them most commonly used in the afternoons. For those who want to relax after a hard day at work, getting a strong RVB can be an ideal choice. However, this strain taken too early in the morning can put some right back to sleep.

Reds are one of my favorite types of kratom for these reasons, but I love all the others too. It really depends on the day and the time of day. There's a pretty decent thread on kratomassociation that discusses red vein in comparison to others, so definitely check it out http://www.kratomassociation.org/forum?view=topic&catid=14&id=4569

While I've seen a few posts on the finding the strongest kratom strains, like this best kratom strain guide, they all seem to be very broad instead of specifically focusing on what the best kratom strains are as of right now. I'm not a fan of vagueness when it comes to kratom, while I do appreciate the fact that they are pretty good guides, they aren't my style, I would prefer that people know exactly what strains they should buy this year.

Because of this, I'm going to go into each category of strains like some of the other guides do, but instead I'll give specific examples which I feel will be of more help.

Low-End Sedating Strains

I'm a pretty big fan of the more chill strains of kratom, and this year I've done a lot of shopping around to figure out what I liked the best, and here are my top three.

LTM

Ok for anyone who is reminiscent of the good old bali strains that used to be so common, I definitely suggest trying this strain from kratomdelight. While this strain is only sold in minimum amounts of 900 grams, I feel it is definitely worth the investment. I will say though, that not every shipment of this strain that I have gotten is alike. Some feel like a really clean bali, and some feel more borneo like. So there is definitely some variation.

Maeng Da Borneo

This strain from sacredplantlife despite being a maeng da is rather sedating especially at the tail end of the experience. Unlike the previous strain, this one can be sold in smaller quantities, but for the best deal, bulk is definitely the way to go.

RVB - Red Vein Borneo

I've really been a fan of Red Vein Borneo strains, but especially the one from ensobotanicals. This strain just feels really clean, and is really potent as well. The price is a little bit higher than the others, but if you are a fan of borneo strains it is definitely worth the cost.

High-End Energetic Strains

There are a few energetic strains that I'm loving at the minute. Here are my top picks!

RVT - Red Vein Thai

Another top pick of mine for stimulating strains right now is the red vein thai from sacredplantlife as well. For the price it's a very good deal, and is up in the 85th percentile in my opinion for awesome thai strains.

Supreme RVT - Red Vein Thai

This strain from herbal cafe has been good to me as well, it is about on par with the above as far as potency goes but it has some unique effects for a Thai and definitely reminds me of some of the better Thai strains I used to get.

Because introductions through a blog always seem a little contrived and tacky, I didn't want to write one like "Hello, my name is loki & I love writing about plants, and the legality of plants," but it seems that I have already done so. With that out of the way, I wanted to let my readers know what the purpose of this blog is, and how it may benefit them.

For those who know me offline, I'm sure you are aware that I am very passionate about the topic of plants and their beneficial aspects; sadly, it seems that our world thinks very differently and tends to value profit and exploitation of natural resources over cheap, and healthy medicine. Because of this, i'll be doing a lot of writing on the legality and status of different plants, from cannabis sativa to kratom (mitragyna speciosa). However, I'll also be writing on related topics that interest me and that I believe will interest my readers as well. I tend to get my inspiration from other writers, and you will often see me link to many like-minded authors, whom I hope to befriend.

I also will be accepting guest posts from anyone who wants to write related topics!